Motorcycle News - Editor’s Choice: An Alternative Top 10 for 2019
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That makes picking the ten best bikes of the year an impossible task. We get around it by leaning purely on stats to compile our ranked ‘Top 10‘ each year. But once that’s done, I have the thankless task of rounding up my personal favorites—an editor’s choice that ignores web stats and social media buzz.
Like the stats-based list, my selection is extremely light on café racers—but loaded with flat trackers and street trackers, and bikes that take cues from those styles. There’s been a big push towards performance in the scene this year too, and some of the bikes below would be proper fun to ride. As an added twist, two of the machines that made the cut are electric. The list below isn’t ranked, it’s simply alphabetical (by builder name). So read on and soak up my ten favorite custom motorcycles of 2019. Then hop into the comments and tell me if you agree with the selection.
The three formed Blatant Moto, and debuted with this radical flat tracker. Ironically dubbed ‘The Death Rattle,’ it’s a refreshing twist on a popular genre, but it’s also a glimpse at the design potential that electric drivetrains offer.
This team’s packing a serious skill set too—the chromoly trellis frame and the swing arm were done in-house, and the overall design and color scheme are inspired. We’re keeping a keen eye on Blatant Moto in 2020. [More]
Since Dani’s raced with Honda throughout his entire career, Woolie picked the extremely potent Honda CR500 as a donor. Then he yanked out the motor and stuck it in a custom chromoly frame from master frame builder, Jeff Cole.
Not only does the bike look absolutely mental, but it’s a wild ride too. Luckily, its owner knows things about riding motorcycles fast… [More]
Add that all up, and you get bikes like this striking Multistrada 1000 DS. Somehow, Nakajima-san has taken a fourteen-year-old motorcycle, shed its awkward lines, and made it look both more retro and more contemporary at the same time. According to him, his original idea was to build a modern interpretation of the classic Ducati 750 GT.
Given that the Multistrada motor is peachy enough out the box, and the handling and ergos have been properly seen to, this one should be a good runner. But it’s the details that send it over the top—like that Ducati motif on the back of the seat. [More]
Harris is owned by Royal Enfield‘s parent company, and actually developed the chassis for the Continental GT and Himalayan. So this bike was built in collaboration with Enfield’s technical center in Leicestershire. That makes it a ‘factory custom’—and it has us praying that it makes it onto showroom floors in some form.
The result is a slick race bike that ticks all the right boxes, but looks fresher than your garden variety flat tracker. Enfield have already been spied running laps on track, but they haven’t given any word about whether they’re actually going to race it. We’re holding thumbs. [More]
This masterpiece has shades of Italian sport bikes, but it’s actually powered by a Knucklehead motor. And it’s no run of the mill Knuckle either. Max started with a 74 ci motor from S&S Cycle, and then rebuilt it to run two front heads and two carbs. All because he had spoken to someone that loved both Knuckleheads and old Vincent motors, and figured he’d build something in that vein.
A set of 18” Morris mags add a dose of retro track style, while mods like the Indian Scout transmission match-up and home-made clutch actuator have us scratching our heads. See you again next year, Max? [More]
The story behind the bike is as crazy as the end result. It involves shaping a 1/10th scale model from stainless steel, buying a new MT-07 when a crashed one couldn’t be found, and dropping out of school to finish the project. It all paid off though.
Nicknamed ‘The Omen,’ this MT-07 is also sporting a custom tank, seat and tail. The stance is flawless, but so is the clever mix of contrasting finishes. [More]
Working after-hours (Luuc has a full-time job) out of Outsiders Motorcycles’ shop, Luuc built one of the most extreme examples of a board tracker we’ve seen.
Titanium exhausts from Akrapovič, carbon forks and a rear shock linkage that borrows its design from mountain bikes; there’s truly some crazy stuff happening here. Add to that a classy red paint job and period-correct leather seat, and you have a winner. [More]
That means his personal race bike has constantly evolved. This is the latest iteration, and it’s so far outside the box that it’s borderline genius. When I saw this Noise Cycles bike in the metal at the Mama Tried show earlier this way, it stopped me dead in my tracks.
Scott trimmed a few bits away, then built a stunning aluminum fuel cell to fill all the available space it could, while holding the bare minimum for racing. Scott had previously flipped the Harley’s heads to run a left side exhaust, but didn’t like it anymore—so he built a new system that exits left and runs through to the right. As for the rest, it’s just a whole lot of really cool race sh*t, that Scott’s figured out as he’s gone along. [More]
They’ve called it ‘Birdcage,’ named for its wireframe chassis, constructed from 138 pieces of titanium. It’s sort of freeform, but it’s also very intentional; everything the bike needs to function is bolted to the birdcage frame.
Revival built Birdcage to intentionally look like it’s not functional. Except it is—even if it does have a really tiny fuel tank that’s hard to spot. [More]
Mike and Walt are driven by a simple ideal: to make electric motorcycles that speak to them on an emotional level. And ‘PACT’ sure is loaded with finishes and touches that evoke emotion. Take a look at the marbling on the bodywork; it’s not paint, it’s the natural finish of the ‘forged’ carbon used for the parts.
The bike makes about 50 hp and weighs just 251 pounds, and has been designed specifically with street-focused geometry. It’s also achingly beautiful. [More] Editor’s Note: I did mention that picking a top ten is tough, and there are always a handful of top-shelf builds that just quite don’t make it onto the list.
As you can tell, it’s been a mega year for us. Thanks for joining us for the ride, and we’ll see you in 2020 for more. Motorcycles via Bike EXIF https://ift.tt/2Mf9b0c December 30, 2019 at 11:32AM Leave a Reply. |
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12/30/2019
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